Courts Panel Shift To Be Up To Voters

Legislature Passes Proposed Amendment On Citizen Members

SPRINGFIELD — Voters will get the chance to restructure the public body that oversees the conduct of judges under a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that cleared the House on Wednesday.

The measure, which was earlier passed by the Senate and was originally suggested by Gov. Jim Edgar after last year's controversy over the actions of Illinois Supreme Court Justice James Heiple, will go on the November ballots. It will require approval by at least 60 percent of those voting on the amendment or a majority of those voting in the election to become part of the state constitution.

"I am pleased that the General Assembly has taken this important step to help restore public trust and provide for public input in matters concerning the fairness of the Illinois judicial system," Edgar said.

The proposal would allow the governor to add two citizens, lawyers or not, to the Illinois Courts Commission. The commission currently has five members: a Supreme Court justice, two appellate justices and two Circuit Court judges.

Edgar said he favored the amendment to ensure that "the judging of judges is not left up to fellow judges."

Controversy surrounded the Courts Commission last year when Justice Moses Harrison II, who was the Illinois Supreme Court representative on the commission and Heiple's nominee to that panel, refused to recuse himself from taking part in a case in which Heiple was accused of misusing his authority to dodge traffic tickets.

The commission also came under criticism for refusing to allow evidence to be presented against Heiple before deciding what penalty to levy against him because he had agreed not to refute the case.

When the commission eventually censured Heiple, who also voluntarily relinquished his role as chief justice, some critics deemed that punishment a slap on the wrist.

In another government development Wednesday, state officials learned from the legislature's fiscal arm that slightly more state revenues may be available for consideration during this spring's budget talks than originally thought.

In a new report, the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission revised upward its January estimates. The commission now estimates revenues for the fiscal year that ends June 30, 1999, at $21 billion, which is as much as $128 million more than the Bureau of the Budget has calculated.

But Edgar cautioned that budget estimates are "all premature."

Other budget issues range from the costs of various pension proposals to whether lawmakers will go along with the idea of reimposing a tax on insurance premiums.

In other legislative action Wednesday:

- Students at public universities would get a voting position on their schools' boards of trustees under a measure that passed the Senate and now goes to the governor for consideration. Currently, none of the student members is allowed to vote.

- Spouses of compulsive gamblers could ask the courts to freeze the family checking account and other assets under a bill advanced by a House committee Wednesday.

Designed to keep addicts from gambling away all their money and property, the measure would allow courts to put a temporary hold on their assets.

In order to request a temporary restraining order, a person would first have to file a motion to become the legal guardian of a spouse or family member with a compulsive gambling problem.

Judges would then have the option of freezing the gambler's assets until the court matter had been resolved.

"We have situations where someone takes his paycheck on Friday and goes to the boat and gambles it away," said Vickie Moseley, a lobbyist for the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol Problems and a supporter of the bill. "Right now, there's nobody like a bartender to cut them off."

The measure passed the committee without dissent and now goes to the House. The Senate has already approved it.

- People convicted of sex crimes against minors would be forbidden from seeing their own children while on probation under a measure gaining support. The Senate has already approved the idea, and a House committee advanced it to the full chamber Wednesday.

- Senators approved a bill to let local authorities hire private firms to notify crime victims when those accused of committing crimes against them are released from custody. Current law requires authorities to notify victims.